Hot 'n Healthy - Yoga for runners

Monday

Sep 2, 2013 at 11:02 PM

KENDALL BEENE-CROWDER

My name is Kendall Beene-Crowder, and I am a yoga instructor at Savannah Power Yoga.

When I discovered yoga in the mid-1990s, I had long been a devoted distance runner. At the time, my running friends thought yoga was crazy, while most of my yoga teachers shunned running's wear and tear on the joints and spine. However, I quickly noticed that adding yoga to my routine not only increased my flexibility and shortened my recovery time, it also bolstered my mental stamina for long and lonely runs. I still run happily and relatively injury-free, thanks to a regular yoga practice.

The following sequence should be performed following a warm-up. This could mean simply practicing the sequence right after your run, or beginning with a different warm-up such as traditional yoga Sun Salutations.

• Breathe in, lengthen your spine, and look up. As you exhale, bend your knees and fold forward at the hips with a long flat back until you can bring your hands to the floor, your calves, or your ankles.

• Keep the knees bent at least slightly, more if your hamstrings are extremely tight. Allow the spine to cascade down toward the ground with a heavy, relaxed head.

• Hold 5-10 breaths.

2) Crescent Lunge or Anjeneyasana

Benefits: Stretches the hip flexors and quadriceps muscles of the back leg while strengthening the gluteal muscles on the front leg, all while improving balance.

• From standing forward fold, simply release your hands to the ground and step the right leg straight back to a lunge.

• Your front knee should be directly above your front ankle, shin perpendicular to the ground. Your back leg is strong and active, with all ten toes pointing straight forward and the back heel off the ground.

• Lift your hands from the floor, lift your torso and reach your arms up to the sky. Stretch your tailbone toward the ground as you press your back leg toward the sky to deepen the hip flexor stretch.

• Hold for 5-10 breaths and change sides.

3) Boat Pose or Navasana

This pose is a core strengthener that stabilizes the runner's gait and impact of foot strike.

• Keeping the collarbones broad and the shoulder blades hugging in toward the spine, bring your shins parallel to the floor.

• You can keep your hands on your thighs if your low back needs extra support. If not, slowly release the hands from the legs and stretch your arms forward on either side of your legs, without losing the lift in your upper chest.

• Hold for five breaths. Rest for a breath or two and repeat up to five times.